Playing at the Pavillon des Stades in Bienne in the round of 32 of the AXA Women’s Cup, FC Lugano Femminile overcame the challenge posed by their local rivals and secured their place in the next round at the end of a veritable marathon.
The clash against the fourth-placed side in Group 1 of the Prima Lega proved to be a hard-fought affair right from the outset. Both teams traded blows, responding blow for blow to each other’s attacks, resulting in a closely contested match. This was underlined by the Bianconeri taking the lead twice – once in each half of normal time – only for the home side to equalise on both occasions.
By the 90th minute, neither side had managed to make the difference, and so extra time loomed on the horizon. It proceeded smoothly until the 120th minute, when the Bienne side took the lead for the first time that evening. Their determination not to be knocked out of the competition prematurely ensured that the Ticino girls believed right to the very end that they could equalise. This came with the very last move of the match, in which even goalkeeper Marie Enning pushed up into the opposition’s box to lend a hand.
An endless contest came to an end in the penalty shoot-out – an aspect the Ticino side practise at the end of every weekly training session, incidentally – where Enning excelled, saving the fourth penalty, before the decisive strike that sent the Bianconeri into raptures. We would like to highlight two players from Team Ticino Femminile’s U18 side, Noemy Suterio and Josipa Dalić, with the latter playing the entire match and scoring the decisive penalty to see the team through to the next round.
After the match, manager Andrea Antonelli had this to say about his players’ performance: “The team played well and in an organised manner. Conceding a goal in the 120th minute and finding the strength to equalise is something very positive that we take away with us. This is in addition to the good performance itself. In seven days’ time, we’ll be back on the pitch to build on this momentum, giving our all to get the better of Ostermundigen as well.”
The next fixture for Antonella Albertini and her team-mates is scheduled for Sunday 19 October 2025 at 4.00 pm, when they will face Ostermundigen from Bern on Pitch F at the Cornaredo Stadium.
MATCH REPORT
: AXA Women’s Cup, Round
of 32, Pavillon des Stades, Bienne
FC BIEL-BIENNE 1896 – FC LUGANO FEMMINILE 5–7, a.e.t. (2–2; 3–3)
GOALS: 13′ Suterio 0–1, 36′ Bigler 1–1, 74′ Nascimento Sa 1–2, 80′ Gerber 2–2, 120′ Läderach 3–2, 120′ +3′ Colombo 3–3.
FC BIEL-BIENNE 1896 (4-3-3): Stegemann; Tschanz, Born, Läderach, Zimmermann; Tocchini (70’ Schwab), Herrmann, Gygax; Saillant (110’ Bollin), Gerber, Bigler.
Subs: van Seeters, Held, Affolter, Leiser, Bärtschi.
Manager: Marcello Conti.
FC LUGANO FEMMINILE (4-5-1): Enning; Russo, Colombo, Zanaboni, Castellani (53′ Bassi); Gigante, Crapanzano, Albertini, Suterio (53′ Oliva), Nascimento Sa; Dalić.
Subs: Audrino, Mochi, Manca.
Manager: Andrea Antonelli.
REFEREE: Dany Costa da Fonte.
ASSISTANT REFEREES: Kenan Plomb and Domenico Pezzella.
BOOKINGS: 43′ Gygax, 114′ Oliva, 118′ Colombo.